TaVasi concert, D.A.R.E Graduation,Piano Recitals, Pre School Graduation

Again, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I hope I will be better in the summer. Anyway, so much has been happening and this time of year is always crazy but I am so glad that I have taken pictures and video of these things so that I can document the awesome things that my kids are involved in. It is so fun to see there confidence grow each year and try new things. Two weeks ago was Hannah's TaVasi concert, it is a singing and dancing show which Nanette Cutler does an awesome job at. Hannah is a very good singer. It was a fun night and this year was a bit different because her Dad was part of the show. It was great!!! The theme this year was "One for All" and one of the numbers was a Annie song which five Dads ran on stage whith there daughters and did a little song and dance with them. They were all very good sports about it and I know Hannah will not be forgetting it soon and neither will the town of Green River who were in attendance. Torrey was given so many compliments on his singing and dancing. It was a hoot! I wish that I could figure out how to put video footage on here and I would give you a taste of it. This one is with her wig from the "Hairspray" number that they performed. It was all very cute and Hannah did an amazing job.

D.A.R.E Graduation-Drug Abuse Resistance Education
This is a program that is taught through the school system by Officer Futia. Wyoming has such a high drug rate but they are finding that the numbers are starting to go down. I am sure that this program has a lot to do with that. 16 out of every 100 8th grade students drink alcohol. I found that to be a very high number. Hattie has made a personal commitment to Avoid Drugs and Violence. She had to write a report about the things that Drugs can do to your mind and body and how it affects the things around you. It was very well written. She did win a DARE bag for having the highest score in a game that they played as a class. Way to go Hattie!! She also was able to meet the Mayor of Green River and some other very Key people


Way to go Hattie!!!
Another very proud moment! This Tuesday we were able to go to Hattie and Riley's piano recital. It was so exciting and they both played awesome. I was not able to take apicture of Hattie at the beautiful Grand Piano but I did video all of her recital. Sorry Hattie. Riley played three songs which one of them he had written and composed by himself. I couldn't believe it. They both have incredible talents and brought tears to my eyes.
My Pre Scool Graduate
Yesterday was Graci's big day. We went to her teacher's house Mrs. Kari which Graci just loves and had a graduation party with games, songs, and really good cake. I did not get much of a concert from Graci while we were there but man has she been singing away since. It was a really fun day for her and she is so excited that next year she gets to go to three days of pre school. This is a picture of Torrey and her feeding eachother banana's while being blind folded. I think they eventually got the banana in eachothers mouths.

Layton had a band concert last night and Torrey said that it was awesome. Layton said that he has decided to play band next year which I am excited about. Sorry Layton that I don't have any pictures of you but I know that you did great. He also had a baseball game at the same time so we weren't able to go to that. We had to prioritize last night. Layton is working on a 4.0 this quarter and he knew that if he went and played ball then he wouldn't get that A in band that he is working for. Way to go Bud!!!
Yesterday, I also took Hattie and Hannah down to Rock Springs to Audition for "Seusical the Musical" It is a summer Theatre program through the Western Wyoming College. Funded by BOCES. They have such an awesome, energetic staff. The girls will have a blast!! I am looking forward to this production. They will be going to Rock Springs Monday through Friday 9:00 to 1:00 June 8th - June 24 and then they will perform all that they have learned. They are way excited.
One more week of school and then we can party!!!

What a Wonderful Mother's Day!!!

I have been blessed with five awesome children which amaze me every day! The very best tribute one can pay to your mother is the way you conduct your life out in a world where she is not present. I have received many phone calls from teachers of my children thanking me for them and their attitudes and personalities. That is the best payback one can receive. The other night Riley and a group of friends rented a movie and sat it up outside on the trampoline and watched it, the awesome thing was is that he included all of his brother and sisters and even took them to get the movie. What an awesome big brother you all have. It was so much fun for me to watch them all having a great time together and know that Riley could do this even among his friends.
Baseball is in full swing and we are spending each night down at the field and it has been very relaxing except for that dang wind. It brings such a chill to the air so we have spent many nights in the car watching the baseball game but has still been fun. Layton is an amazing defensive player. I just love the cool way he plays. He is always a very solid first baseman. He is a ROCK!!! There are not to many balls that have gotten by him.
To start my wonderful day out, I received a phone call from my own mother. She beat me to it. I was planning on calling her Sunday night and she beat me. It was good to talk to her and her phone call was very appreciated. Thank you Mom and I hope you know how much I love you.
Hattie was Torrey's number one girl this mother's Day. She helped him so much to make this day special for me. I can just picture her when she is grown to be the one to help me gather our family together during Holidays and special Moments in our lives after our kids are grown and have families of their own. I had a meeting after church and so Torrey beat me home which is so unusual but it was awesome because the table was set with beautiful dandelions picked by Graci and Hannah and the steaks were on the grill. It was so much fun to just sit and relax while the steaks were cooking so I had time to play. We were enjoying the nice day and the tramp. I even got on there and did not wet my pants. I wasn't brave enough to do my front and back flips that I used to do about fifteen years ago. I just kept picturing me with a big neck brace on or with some sort of cast so no acrobatics were done by me but Torrey on the other hand was a bit scary. Even more so for me. I didn't want our disability insurance to have to kick in at this stage in our lives. Anyway it was a great time.
Graci was so incredible on keeping a secret with her Mother's Day gift that she had made at school. Thursday she came home with her gift and was so excited and went and hid her gift in her closet and wouldn't let me come in and then asked me when Mother's Day was and I couldn't even trick her. I told her that it was today and there was no way I was going to get that gift. So then I told her that we had to go to bed two times and then wake up and get ready for church and then that was the special day. So Excited!! Everyday she would remind me of my gift and just dangle it out there enough but would not break in and give it to me. Amazing! She definately did not get that gene from her father because Torrey cannot keep a secret to save his life and you can always get it out of him. She was so fun though to watch. She made me the cutest basket decorated with homemade flowers in there and we used it to decorate our table with.Everybody gave me a packet full of coupons which were the greatest because then it seems like Mother's day can last a few days longer. It was full of Massage coupons, babysitting coupons, cleaning coupons, car washes, a homemade necklace mad by Hannah with beautiful beads on it. It was the best guys. Thank you so much for the incredible day! I did not tell you of another awesome part of the day. My boys had to speak in Sacrement meeting and they did such a great job. What a tribute to your mother. I was compared to the righteous woman who told King Solomon that the baby was not hers just to save the life of her child and then was given the child because King Solomon new that the real mother would not let her own child get cut in half. Riley said that he knew that I would do anything for him and everything I do is for him. He wished that other kids around him had the loving family that he had and he knew that his parents loved eachother and he was so thankful for everything. A mother's dream!! Layton compared me to Hannah which tried to raise a righteous young man that she could turn over to the Lord and that is one of my most desireable goals. He did not get to personal in his talk because he is just like me. He did not want to be seen crying and so just stuck very much to his talk and did not veer away from that in anyway. I had to laugh. He did an aweome job though and afterwards gave me a big hug. I knew that he loved me! Another huge surprise but really not a surprise because my Father in Law is amazing and is so thoughtful. I know that he was such a huge example to Torrey and therefore, I was blessed with an incredible thoughtful husband in which I am so thankful for. I received in the mail, M. Russell Ballards new book, "Daughters of God" and the inside read, "I hope you have a great Mother's Day and know that you are loved and appreciated." Thank You so much Veldon for that gift. It made my day. I was blessed with amazing in-laws that are such examples to me. You are awesome. I am so grateful to be a mother and for the responsibility that it brings. Everything that I do is for each one of you. I love you all very much and thank you for letting me be your Mom.